Teen Tapped for Billy Elliot Broadway Role
Kiril Kulish one of three teen performers selected for strenuous role
Getty Images/Scott Gries
A local boy is one of three teenage performers selected for the strenuous starring role in "Billy Elliot" on Broadway.
A local boy is one of three teenaged performers selected for the strenuous starring role in "Billy Elliot" on Broadway.
San Diego teenager Kirl Kulish, 14, is also a trained concert pianist and illustrious ballet dancer. He is one of three teens selected after a yearlong national talent search that drew over 1,500 hopefuls from all over the U.S.
The other two teenagers selcted to share the role are Montreal born 13 year old David Alvarez and 13 year old Trent Kowalik from New York.
Kulish is the youngest member ever admitted to the San Diego Academy of Ballet's junior company, according to the New York Theatre Guide. Equally accomplished in classical piano and Latin and ballroom dancing, he has won numerous awards in all the disciplines.
"The part of Billy Elliot is unlike any other in the history of musical theatre, requiring a remarkable range of talents: ballet, tap, street dance, singing, acting, dialect and gymnastics," according to the guide. The need for three actors to play the part of Billy Elliot is necessary because of how strenuous the role is.
"The role is the largest child's role in muscial theatre and one of the largest roles of any age ... it's the role's sheer size and the stamina required that necessitates this unique triple-casting," according to the Guide.
The Broadway musical is based on the wildly successful film "Billy Elliot," which is the story of a boy who discovers he has a special talent for dance while the boys around him are more interested in boxing.
"Billy Elliott -- The Musical" opens at the Imperial Theatre on Nov 13.
